David Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin held face-to-face talks today for the first time since the crisis in the Ukraine.

The Prime Minister met Mr Putin in Paris at the Charles De Gaulle Airport ahead of tomorrow's D-Day commemorations in Normandy. It came after Mr Putin was warned that he has one month to end Russia's destabilisation of Ukraine or facing crippling economic sanctions.

After the meeting Mr Cameron said he gave the Russian President a 'very clear and firm set of messages' during the talks and said the current situation is 'not acceptable'.

David Cameron today became the first Western leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin since the Ukraine crisis began

The Prime Minister said: 'This was a meeting with a very clear and firm set of messages, which is that there is an opportunity for a successful, peaceful and stable Ukraine especially now there's been a presidential election.

'But the status quo, the situation today, is not acceptable and it needs to change.'

Mr Cameron's aides said the meeting with Mr Putin was a chance to 'look him in the eye' and tell him his behaviour was unacceptable.

Earlier today at a hastily-arranged summit of the G7 leaders in Brussels - which Mr Putin was barred from attending - the Prime Minister laid out a series of steps Mr Putin had to take if he is to avoid deepening international isolation.

At a joint news conference with US president Barack Obama, Mr Cameron said Moscow needed to recognise the election of new Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, stop the flow of arms across the border and cease support for pro-Russian separatist groups.

'Russia's actions are completely unacceptable and totally at odds with the values of this group of democracies,' he said.

'The status quo is unacceptable. The continuing destabilisation of eastern Ukraine must stop.

'If these things don't happen, then sectoral sanctions will follow. The next month will be vital in judging if President Putin has taken these steps and that is what I will urge President Putin to do when I meet him later today.'

Mr Cameron, is the first western leader to meet Mr Putin face-to-face since the current crisis.

Russia, which had been due to host a G8 summit in Sochi, has been effectively expelled from the group it has been part of for almost two decades following its annexation of Crimea.

The Prime Minister said he gave the Russian leader a 'very clear and firm set of messages' about its behaviour in Ukraine

Mr Putin did not appear particularly concerned about the Prime Minister's message. The Russian leader has been barred from the G8 following his decision to annex Crimea

Mr Obama urged Mr Putin to 'seize the opportunity' opened up by Mr Poroshenko's election in last month's presidential poll to negotiate a diplomatic resolution the crisis.

'We are at a point where Mr Putin has a chance to get back into a lane of international law. He has a president in Poroshenko who he can negotiate directly with,' he said.

'It's clear that he recognises that Ukraine needs to have a good relationship with Russia, but also rightly affirms the right of Ukraine to engage with the rest of the world.'

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Mr Obama also echoed Mr Cameron in warning that the western powers could not afford to allow the situation to 'drift' and Mr Putin needed to move quickly to show he was serious about finding a peaceful solution.

'The mere fact that some of the Russian soldiers have moved back off the border and that Russia is now destabilising Ukraine through surrogates rather than overtly and explicitly does not mean that we can afford three months or four months or six months of continued violence and conflict in eastern Ukraine,' he said.

'We will have a chance to see what Mr Putin does over the next two, three, four weeks, and if he remains on the current course, then we've already indicated the kinds of actions that we're prepared to take.'

At a joint press conference earlier today, Mr Cameron and the US President Barack Obama said Russia's behaviour in Ukraine had been unacceptable and vowed to hit the country with more sanctions

While Mr Obama emphasised the importance of the G7 allies marching in 'lockstep', he expressed his concern over French president Francois Hollande's decision to go ahead with a £1 billion deal to supply two Mistral class helicopter assault ships to Russia.

'I have expressed some concerns - and I don't think I'm alone in this - about continuing significant defence deals with Russia at a time when they have violated basic international law and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of their neighbours,' he said.

'President Hollande understands my position. I recognise that this is a big deal. I recognise that the jobs in France are important. I think it would have been preferable to press the pause button. President Hollande so far has made a different decision.'